Genesis 15:1
After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
1. “After these things…”
1). I don’t think it is coincidence that immediately after Abram’s complete obedience in this covenant of war and rescue and then tithing the spoils (Genesis 14), he has a tremendous spiritual encounter with God. Remember also this chapter is the revelation of the unconditional covenant of the land given to Abram and his seed.
2. “…the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision…”
1). This is the pre-incarnate Christ.
a). John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
b). John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
c). Hebrews 4:12, 13 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
4:13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
d). Revelation 19:11-16 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
19:12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
19:13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called the Word of God.
19:14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
3. “…saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.”
1). Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
a). This is the reason for the complete victory and slaughter of Abram over the kings of Mesopotamia. There was a spiritual battle that took place that resulted in Abram’s victory.
2). In Genesis 15:1 the Lord God was reaffirming to Abram that he, God, was Abram’s “shield”, God was his “defense”, God was Abram’s “armed protector”. What a promise!
God also said in Genesis 15:1 that he, God was Abram’s reward. God was the source of Abram’s wages, worth, his maintenance. Praise God! God was reaffirming to Abram that He was his source and He was going to take care of him.
Genesis 15:2
And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
Genesis 15:3
And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
a. This incident in Genesis 15 is the fourth time recorded in Scripture where either the word of the Lord God came to Abram or God appeared to him. Abram’s response to what God had said to him in verse one when he was his protector and reward, was, “You have given me no seed, I have no heir.” In light of the previous times that God had spoken to Abram, this was understandable.
1). Genesis 12:1-3 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee.
12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
2). Genesis 12:6, 7 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.
12:7 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.
3). Genesis 13:14-18 And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
13:15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever.
13:16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
13:17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
13:18 And Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built an altar unto the LORD.
a). So in light of the promises God had given Abram in the three previous encounters, it was appropriate for these questions regarding descendents to be asked.
3. “…and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.”
Genesis 15:4
And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
Genesis 15:5
And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
1. “And he brought him forth abroad and said…”
a. An interesting fact of this encounter between Almighty God and Abram is that in verse 5, it appears to be night and yet in verse 12 the sun begins to go down. I have trouble believing that it took Abram the rest of the evening, the next morning and all day the next day to cut up the animals and finish right before the sun went down the next day. Now there may be a simple explanation for this, but because God is in the picture I don’t believe it is simple. Jewish tradition says that God took Abram outside the realm of reason and nature. (Stone Edition of the Chumash. Note under Genesis 15:5). I don’t think it is out of the question to believe that God brought Abram to a place where he could see the stars in the daytime. Supernatural travel has happened to more than a few individuals in Scripture. Elijah, Enoch, Phillip, Jesus, Paul, John. If God can bring a person to heaven such as John and Paul why not to a place where he can see the stars in the daytime.
2. “…Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him…”
3. “…So shall thy seed be.”
Genesis 15:6
And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
1.”And he believed in the LORD…”
a. [And he] believed [Strong: 539 'aman aw-man' a primitive root; properly, to build up or support; to foster as a parent or nurse; figuratively to render (or be) firm or faithful, to trust or believe, to be permanent or quiet; morally to be true or certain; once (Isa. 30:21; interchangeable 541) to go to the right hand:--hence, assurance, believe, bring up, establish, + fail, be faithful (of long continuance, stedfast, sure, surely, trusty, verified), nurse, (-ing father), (put), trust, turn to the right.]
1). The Blood Covenant, H. Clay Trumbull, p.220: “The Hebrew word, here translated “believed in”, carries the idea of an unqualified committal of self to another. It is from the root aman with the two fold idea of “to be faithful” and “to trust”.
2). I personally believe this is a reflection of what has been going on in Abrams heart since before he left Ur, that he had been believing God the whole time and that he grew in his faith. I think this is demonstrated by Paul and James in their writings about this verse in the next section. However, if in verse 5 there was a supernatural event such as Abram taken to outer space or he was able to miraculously see the stars in the middle of the day, I can see it causing Abram’s believing, his faith to grow stronger.
2. “…and he counted it to him for righteousness.”
a. This verse is quoted by the Apostle Paul in his powerful explanation of New Covenant righteousness. One of the main arguments here is the covenantal reality that Abraham was declared righteous by God before circumcision, in order to establish the precedent that those of us in the New Covenant can receive that same righteousness by having faith in Christ and being circumcised in the spirit and not in the flesh. It is also cited in Galatians 3 cited later in this study.
1). Romans 4:1-3 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?
4:2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
4:3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
b. There was in Abram as Trumbull writes in his book The Blood Covenant, “an unqualified committal of self” to God. It is also described in James in his explanation of the relationship between faith and works.
Genesis 15:7
And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.
1. “And he said unto him…”
2. “…I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.”
a. This is one of the verses that helps establish that it was before he left Ur that the LORD had already spoken to Abram.
1). Acts 7:2-4 And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran,
7:3 And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.
7:4 Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell.
Genesis 15:8
And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
1. “And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?”
a. Abram then asked for proof he was getting this land. This is similar to other men of God asking for proof, such as Gideon and Hezekiah (Judges 6:36-40; 2 Kings 20:8-11).
b. God Almighty responded by making a Covenant with Abram, and really, that is what Abram was asking for, because at that time the Covenant was the highest form of legal document.
1). The Blood Covenant, H. Clay Trumbull, p.4. “…the rite of blood-covenanting: a form of mutual covenanting, by which two person enter into the closest, the most enduring, and the most sacred of compacts, as friends and brothers, or as more than brothers, through the inter-comingling of their blood…”
Genesis 15:9
And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.
1. “And he said unto him…”
2. “…Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
a. Old Testament Bible History, Alfred Edersheim, pp. 63, 64. “To confirm Abram’s faith, Jehovah now gave Abram a sign and a seal, He entered into a covenant with him. For this purpose the Lord directed Abram to bring an heifer, a she-goat, and a ram, each of three years old, also a turtle-dove and a young pigeon. These sacrifices…were to be divided, and the pieces laid one against the other, as the custom was in making a covenant, the covenanting parties always passing between them, as it were to show that now there was no longer to be division, but that what had been divided was to be considered as one between them.
b. Unger’s Bible Dictionary, p.224. “Covenants were not only concluded with an oath, but after an ancient custom, confirmed by slaughtering and cutting a victim into two halfs, between which the parties passed, to intimate that if either of them broke the covenant it would fare with him as with the slain and divided beast.”
c. There are more details given in another example given in Jeremiah.
1). Jeremiah 34:18 And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, which have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, when they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts.
2). Here we see that the participants spoke their part of the covenant as they walked between the pieces. This word picture will become more impressive as Chapter 15 unfolds.
Genesis 15:10
And he took him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.
Genesis 15:11
And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.
1. “And when the fowls came down upon the carcases…”
2. “…Abram drove them away.”
a. After Abram killed the animals and divided them, vultures arrived and attempted to do what vultures do. They attempted to begin to devour the freshly killed animals. Although this is definitely a real event it also represents a spiritual truth. The fowls of course represent satanic attempts to destroy the sacrificial offering, and Abram kept them away.
1). Matthew 13:4 And when he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
2). Matthew 13:19 “When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart…”
Genesis 15:12
And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
Genesis 15:13
And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
a. Genesis Record, Henry Morris, p.327. “God said they would be in an alien land 400 years, a round number which was later seen to be exactly 430 years…Genesis 15:13 can be interpreted: “Thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and [all the people among whom they dwell, both Canaanites and Egyptians] shall afflict them four hundred years.”
1). This point is backed up by the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament written approximately 300 B.C., and the Samaritan Pentateuch.
a). [Septuagint] And the sojourning of the children of Israel, while they sojourned in the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan was four hundred and thirty years.
b). [Samaritan Pentateuch] "Now the sojourning of the children of Israel and of their fathers which they had dwelt in the land of Canaan and in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years."
2). Another Jewish Rabbinical source is the Chumash and it supports the fact that the four hundred plus years include the time from the cutting of the Covenant until the giving of the law 430 years later.
a). Stone Edition of the Chumash, Mesorah Publications, Ltd. Ninth Impression of the Eleventh Edition, July 2007. “Although the verse gives the duration of Israel’s stay in Egypt as 430 years, it is clear that the nation could not have been in Egypt for that long, for the lifetimes of Kehoth, who came with Jacob, and his son Amram total only 270 years, and Amram’s son Moses was eighty at the time of the Exodus. Rather, the Rabbinic tradition, as cited by Rashi, is as follows: The Covenant between the Parts Genesis 15:7-21) took place 430 years before the Exodus, and that is the period referred to in our verse.”
3). More importantly, the Apostle Paul writing under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost also said the period between the cutting of the Covenant and the giving of the law was 430 years.
a). Galatians 3:16, 17 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
3:17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
b). Galatians 3:16, 17 [Classic Amplified] Now the promises (covenants, agreements) were decreed and made to Abraham and his Seed (his Offspring, his Heir). He [God] does not say, And to seeds (descendants, heirs), as if referring to many persons, but, And to your Seed (your Descendant, your Heir), obviously referring to one individual, Who is [none other than] Christ (the Messiah).
3:17 This is my argument: The Law, which began 430 years after the covenant [concerning the coming Messiah], does not and cannot annul the covenant previously established (ratified) by God, so as to abolish the promise and make it void.
Genesis 15:14
And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
a. This is the first mention of a promise made to Abraham, that when Israel would leave Egypt, they would not leave empty handed.
1). Exodus 12:35, 36 And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment:
12:36 And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.
b. Mentioned again to Moses at the burning bush.
1). Exodus 3:20-22 And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go.
3:21 And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty.
3:22 But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.
Genesis 15:15
And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
Genesis 15:16
But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
a. During this time in world history, as the Scripture reveals during this time period, the level of iniquity the Amorites were embracing was not as bad as 400 plus years later when Israel came into the land of Canaan to possess it. The nations of Canaan, of which the Amorites were the dominant nation were not righteous, but the level of iniquity was not as bad as it would be by the time when Israel conquered the land. There are two facts that point this out.
2). Abraham was in covenant with some of the Amorites he lived around.
a). Genesis 14:13 And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.
b). confederate (Two Hebrew words) [1167 * ba’al] master, husband, confederate, have to do, they of… [1285 * beriyth] a compact (because made by passing between pieces of flesh):- confederacy, covenant, league.]
c). This covenant (between Abram and the three Amorite brothers), probably was not a spiritual covenant But may have been), regardless, still it was the highest form of legal contract at that time. Interestingly though it is also the same Hebrew word used when God and man made covenants. In fact, in Jeremiah 31:31-34 when Jeremiah prophesied of the coming New Covenant that we live in today, the same Hebrew word is used in Jeremiah 31:31 (compare to Hebrews 10:15-17). The fact that Abraham was in covenant with some of the Amorites agrees with the point they as a culture had not yet descended to a level of corruption that would have prevented making even legal, secular business covenants with them. Compare for instance Abram’s response to the king of Sodom in the previous chapter in Genesis.
d). Yet by the time Israel comes into the land, 470 years later, (430 years between the Covenant of the parts in Genesis 15 and the giving of the law on Sinai; and 40 years wandering in the desert), incest, homosexuality, bestiality, child sacrifice, devil worship and all forms of occults practices had spread to the whole seven nations of Canaan. In fact, all these behaviors were legislated into the legal systems of all 7 nations. To what extent is to me unknown, but perhaps at least, it was the absolute freedom to practice such behavior, free from any legal prohibitions.
(1). Leviticus 18:1-4 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
18:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your God.
18:3 After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances.
18:4 Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God.
(2). The Hebrew word used in verse 3 for the “ordinances” of the Canaanites is the same Hebrew word used in verse 4 for the “ordinances” of God.
(3) ordinances [Strong: 2708 2708 chuqqah khook-kaw' feminine of 2706, and meaning substantially the same:--appointed, custom, manner, ordinance, site, statute.] [Gesenius: that which is established or defined, law, ordinance, practice, custom, right, privilege.]
(4) The sexual practices that the Canaanites legislated into their legal systems included incest, adultery, homosexuality, and bestiality.
e). The earliest source on this topic is in the Tannaitic midrash to the book of Leviticus. Like a number of passages in Leviticus, including chapter 18 to which it is a commentary, the midrashic passage links sexual sin and idolatry to the Egyptians (whom the Israelites defeated in the Exodus) and the Canaanites (whom the Israelites will displace when they come into their land). The idea that among the sins of these peoples was the recognition of same-sex marriages is not found in the biblical text, but is read in by the rabbis: Sifra Acharei Mot, parashah 9:8
“According to the doings of the Land of Egypt…and the doings of the Land of
Canaan…you shall not do” (Leviticus 18:3): Can it be (that it means) don’t build
buildings, and don’t plant plantings? Thus it (the verse) teaches (further), “And
you shall not walk in their statutes.” I say (that the prohibition of the verse
applies) only to (their) statutes – the statutes which are theirs and their fathers and
their fathers’ fathers. And what did they do? A man got married to a man, and a
woman to a woman, a man married a woman and her daughter, and a woman was
married to two (men). Therefore it is said, “And you shall not walk in their statutes.”
http://www.brandeis.edu/projects/fse/judaism/docs/essays/homoerotic-activity.pdf
4). What this shows is that nations and cultures become more corrupt over time. It does not happen overnight. In the case of the land of Canaan it was over 400 years until they reached the level of iniquity that would require their destruction. Any person in America that is 50 years old or more can relate to this slow descent. Just in the example of homosexuality we can see this descent. From the founding of this nation beginning with the first 13 states up until 1961 homosexual conduct was illegal in all 50 states. Over the course of the next 40 years there was a slow, deliberate attempt to decriminalize the behavior and remove its stigma and shame from our culture until 2003 when the Supreme Court removed all state laws outlawing it. After 2003 the homosexual movement set its sights on the institution of marriage. The Supreme Court decided in 2015 remove the legality of state laws that forbid homosexual marriage. Also from in 2015 onward there are serious attempts at removing the freedom of religion in the United States which is a part of the First Amendment of the Constitution. All this has occurred in my lifetime of 72 years.
Genesis 15:17
And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.
a. NIV: When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces.
b. YLT: And it cometh to pass -- the sun hath gone in, and thick darkness hath been -- and lo, a furnace of smoke, and a lamp of fire, which hath passed over between those pieces.
c. Amplified Bible: When the sun had gone down and a [thick] darkness had come on, behold, a smoking oven and a flaming torch passed between those pieces.
d. Septuagint: And when the sun was about to set, there was a flame, and behold a smoking furnace and lamps of fire, which passed between these divided pieces.
e. Stone Edition Chumash: So it happened: The sun set, and it was very dark. Behold, there was a smoky furnace and a torch of fire which passed between these pieces.
f. Peshitta Eastern Text: And it came to pass that when the sun had set and it was dark, Behold there appeared a smoking furnace and a burning torch that passed between those pieces.
1. “And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.”
a. [a] smoking [6227 * ‘ashan] [ Strong: from 6225; smoke, literally or figuratively (vapor, dust, anger):--smoke(-ing).] [Gesenius: smoke, in metaphor, simile.] [AMG: It is also used in a figurative depiction of the LORD going forth in battle or in anger.]
b. furnace [Strong: 8574 tannûwr, tan-noor'; from H5216; a fire-pot:—furnace, oven.] [Gesenius: an oven, a furnace; As to the ovens of the Orientals which have often the form of a great pot.]
1). Significant uses of this Hebrew word.
a). Psalm 21:9 Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.
b). 2 Samuel 22:7-9 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.
22:8 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth.
22:9 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
c). Isaiah 31:9 And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.
d). Malachi 4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
d. [and a] burning [784 * ‘esh] [Strong: a primitive word; fire (literally or figuratively):-- burning, fiery, fire, flaming, hot.]
e. lamp [3940 * lappiyd] [Strong: from an unused root probably meaning to shine; a flambeau, lamp or flame:--(fire-)brand, (burning) lamp, lightning, torch.]
1). Significant uses of this Hebrew word.
a). Exodus 20:18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
b). Isaiah 62:1 For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.
2). Other descriptions of God using comparable words.
a). Hebrews 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.
b). Psalm 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
c). Exodus 13:21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire; to give them light; to go by day and night.
3). The participants who walked in between the pieces in this case were “a smoking furnace and a burning lamp”. Abram did not participate because he was in a deep sleep. So who were these two participants? There are many times in Scripture where the Presence of the Lord is shown by fire. I personally believe they were two of the Persons of Godhead, the LORD God and the LORD God, the pre-incarnate Christ and the Father God. Previous to the Incarnation, which occurred almost 2000 years later, these two participants were the LORD God and the LORD God. Though Judaism has known for thousands of years that the LORD was who passed between the pieces, the full revelation was not given to them. In the book of Galatians the Apostle Paul wrote about this Covenant. The promises uttered in the Covenant were promised by God to the pre-incarnate Christ, who was “the seed”, and to Abraham.
a). Galatians 3:16, 17 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
3:17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
4). According to Jeremiah 34:18, the participants of the covenant walked between the animal parts and spoke the words of the covenant.
a). Jeremiah 34:18 And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, which have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, when they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof,
5). Remember, Abram did not participate, he did not walk through the parts. According to the Scriptures, Abram was in a deep sleep.
a). Genesis 15:12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
b). Old Testament Bible History, Alfred Edersheim, p.64. “Then it was that the covenant was made; not, as usually, by both parties passing between the divided sacrifice, but by Jehovah alone, God, undertook all the obligations, while the other received all the benefits.”
6). An added element that is not mentioned in this passage is one of the actions on the behalf of the participants in covenants, and most assuredly happened here. It is the lifting up of the hand. It is mentioned in Genesis 14:22 where Abram, speaking to the King of Sodom says, “I have lift up my hand unto the most high God.” Although the writing down of the following particular element of this covenant did not occur until centuries later, when Ezekiel wrote it under the inspiration of God, it no doubt reflects what happened centuries earlier when this covenant was cut. When the persons of the Godhead were passing through the covenant pieces, they were swearing with uplifted hands to fulfill their responsibilities of the covenant.
a). Ezekiel 47:14 And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another: concerning the which I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance.
Genesis 15:18
In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Eurphrates:
1. “In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying…”
a. In the Genesis covenant the words spoken were, “Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.” Because only the two Persons of the Godhead passed between the pieces and not Abram, it was unconditional. This Covenant was given for a thousand generations.
a). Psalm 105:6-11 O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen.
105:7 He is the LORD our God: his judgments are in all the earth.
105:8 He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.
105:9 Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac;
105:10 And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant:
105:11 Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance:
1). An added element not mentioned in the Genesis passage but no doubt occurred is what Ezekiel 47:14 describes, “And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another: concerning the which I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers:”
2). In light of the above Scripture, we see The First Person of the Godhead speaking to the Second Person of the Godhead and to Abram (who was in a deep sleep), swearing with an uplifted hand to fulfill the promises of the giving of the land. In all that was spoken by God in Genesis 15, whether it was to Abram and to “the seed”, the pre-Incarnate Christ in Genesis 15:13-16, or to Abram and “the seed”, the pre-Incarnate Christ in Genesis 15:18-21; the only Covenant promise mentioned is about the geography. Abram was also told briefly of the circumstances that would last 400 years leading up to the exodus out of Egypt. From the text in Genesis, that is all we get, a promise of sacred real estate, but there was more promised in this Covenant that is not mentioned in the text of Genesis. If both parties professed and swore their part in the Covenant, and the First Person of the Godhead spoke about the Amorites/Canaanite and the Egyptian afflictions and the promise of the inheriting of the land, what could have been the content of the professions of “the seed”, the pre-Incarnate Christ, the second Person of the Godhead? Well, we know for a fact that the plan of redemption is older than the earth itself, that the three Persons of the Godhead, the LORD God planned the redemption of man before the earth was ever created.
a). 1 Peter 1:18-20 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
1:20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
3). Another important factor is that Paul is discussing that redemption when he injects the facts of the cutting of the Covenant in Genesis 15 into Galatians 3.
a). a. Galatians 3:5-19 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
3:6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
3:7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
3:9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written,
Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
3:11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
3:12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.
3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
3:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
3:15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.
3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
3:17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
3:18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
3:19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.
b. What Paul is basically saying in Galatians 3:5-19 is that the justification of mankind, the blessing of Abraham in the New Covenant were the promises declared in that Covenant of Genesis 15 . In light of that, the promises uttered by the pre-Incarnate Christ could have been something along these lines: “I will die a sacrificial death shedding my sinless blood to redeem all of mankind, bringing justification by faith in that sacrificial death and resurrection from the dead.
1). The cutting of the covenant took place on the plains of Mamre right outside present day Hebron, within the so called “West Bank”. Paul writes that the time from the cutting of the Covenant till Israel left Egypt was 430 years.
a). a. Galatians 3:16, 17 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
3:17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
2). This figure is bolstered by that fact that within that 430th year Israel arrived at Sinai to receive the law.
a). Exodus 19:1 In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai.
b). The 430 year time period between the cutting of the covenant in Genesis 15 and Israel leaving Egypt is traditional Rabbinical teaching that goes back over two thousand years. In the Stone Edition of the Jewish Chumash, the Rabbinical tradition is cited in commentary under the verse Exodus 12:40.
(1) Stone Edition of the Chumash, Mesorah Publications, Ltd. Ninth Impression of the Eleventh Edition, July 2007. “Although the verse gives the duration of Israel’s stay in Egypt as 430 years, it is clear that the nation could not have been in Egypt for that long, for the lifetimes of Kehoth, who came with Jacob, and his son Amram total only 270 years, and Amram’s son Moses was eighty at the time of the Exodus. Rather, the Rabbinic tradition, as cited by Rashi, is as follows: The Covenant between the Parts Genesis 15:7-21) took place 430 years before the Exodus, and that is the period referred to in our verse.”
(2) The fact that the Apostle Paul included this tradition in the inspired word of God is enough to believe it is correct. Earlier in this same book of Galatians, i.e., verses, 1:11-12, Paul declares the gospel he received was directly from Jesus Christ. We can then, with sufficient authority declare the time from the cutting of the Covenant in Genesis 15 till the giving of the law at Sinai was 430 years.
3). In light of that, a closer look at Exodus 12:40, 41 is warranted.
a). Exodus 12:40, 41[KJV] “Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.
b). The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament supports the 430 year account to include the sojourns of Egypt and Canaan. Exodus 12:40 “And the sojourning of the children of Israel, while they sojourned in the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan was four hundred and thirty years.”
4). A closer look at Exodus 12:41 reveals a startling fact, and most translations agree.
a). Exodus 12:41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.
b). [NLT] In fact, it was on the last day of the 430th year that all the LORD's forces left the land.
c). [NIV] At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the LORD's divisions left Egypt.
5). The Scripture declares that the day Israel came out of Egypt was 430 years to the day. What day, we may ask, the day of the cutting of the covenant in Genesis 15. This is where it gets beautiful. The cutting of the Covenant in Genesis 15 was on the 14th of Nisan, 430 years prior to the first Passover. Israel came out of Egypt on the 14th of Nisan according to the Jewish calendar. Jesus was crucified on the 14th of Nisan, Passover according to the New Testament. God has a calendar that I believe he has operated by since creation. Scripturally, we can prove that He has operated within that calendar since the Covenant of Genesis 15.
a). God gave that calendar, with all the Sabbaths, new moons, feasts and festivals to his Covenant people at Sinai: Exodus 12:1-28; Leviticus 23.
b). These elements of the calendar were shadows of what God would do through Christ: The body casting the shadow is Jesus Christ, Colossians 2:16, 17.
c). Jesus crucified on Passover, the Holy Spirit given at Pentecost, etc.
d). When Jesus comes back, at least one of the Feasts, i.e., the Feast of Tabernacles, will be reinstituted as a requirement for the whole world, Zechariah 14:16-19.
(1) Zechariah 14:16-19 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
14:17 And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.
14:18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
14:19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
e). Eventually the whole world will governed by this calendar as evidenced by Isaiah 66:23 “And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.”
Genesis 15:19
The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,
Genesis 15:20
And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,
Genesis 15:21
And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
Israel and their right to the Land
Genesis 15:7-21
15:7 And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.
15:8 And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
15:9 And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.
15:10 And he took him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.
15:11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.
15:12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
15:14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
15:15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
15:16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
15:17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.
15:18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Eurphrates:
15:19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,
15:21 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,
And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
a. Notice carefully in verse 12 that “when the sun was going down”, Abram fell into “a deep sleep”. In verse 17, “when the sun went down, and it was dark…a smoking furnace and a burning lamp…passed between those pieces.”
b. According to Jeremiah 34:18, the participants of the covenant walk between the animals and profess the words of the covenant.
1). Jeremiah 34:18 “And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, which have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, when they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof.”
c. The added element is Ezekiel 47:14 And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another: concerning the which I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers:
d. The participants who walked between the pieces in this case were “a smoking furnace and a burning lamp”. I personally believe they were two of the Persons of Godhead, the LORD God and the LORD God, i.e. the person of the Godhead we have come to know as Father God and the other Person was the pre-incarnate Christ.
1). Hebrews 12:29 “For our God is a consuming fire.”
2). Psalm 119:105 “Thy word is a lamp, and a light unto my path.”
3). John 1:1, 14 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”…”And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…”
c. The words spoken were, “Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”
1). In light of this, we see The First Person of the Godhead speaking to the Second Person of the Godhead.
d. The cutting of the covenant took place on the plains of Mamre right outside present day Hebron, within the so called “West Bank”.
Galatians 3:16, 17
3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
3:17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
a. The giving of the law at Sinai (Exodus 20), was 430 years after the Covenant of Genesis 15.
b. Israel arrived at Sinai in the third month after coming out of Egypt, within the 430th year.
1).Exodus 19:1 “In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai.”
c. All translations that I checked, (Amplified, NASB, NRSV, and NIV) they all clearly say Israel was in Egypt 430 years. For example, the New American Standard Bible says in Exodus 12:40, “Now the time that the sons of Israel lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.”
d. The Genesis Record, Henry M. Morris. “Galatians 3:17, however, suggests that the 430 year period was from the time of the covenant with Abraham until the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai. This, in turn suggests that Genesis 15:13 can be interpreted: “Thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and [all the people among whom they dwell, both Canaanites and Egyptians] shall afflict them four hundred years.” Similarly, Exodus 12:40 can be understood as follows: “Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was [altogether, that is, from the time of the covenant until they left Egypt] four hundred and thirty years.”
e. If you look closely at the King James translation, it really does not state clearly that Israel was in Egypt four hundred and thirty years. It could be understood to mean, that their “sojourning” was four hundred and thirty years and at the end of the 430 years which occurred while they were in Egypt, the sojourning ended.
f. In fact, the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of Hebrew Old Testament, written around 200-300 B.C., includes the time in Canaan with the time in Egypt in the 430 years.
1). Exodus 12:40, “And the sojourning of the children of Israel, while they sojourned in the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan was four hundred and thirty years.”
g. The interesting twist is that it was 430 years to the day.
1). Exodus 12:41 “And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.”
h. Israel came out of Egypt on the 14th of Nisan the first Passover, according to the Jewish calendar. Jesus was crucified on the 14th of Nisan according to the Jewish calendar. If we do the math backwards 430 years to the day from Israel coming out of Egypt, we can see that the Covenant of Genesis 15 was performed on the 14th of Nisan. Since that is true, the implications are profound.
1). God has a calendar that I believe he has operated by since creation. Scripturally, we can prove that He has operated within that calendar since the Covenant of Genesis 15. God gave that calendar, with all the Sabbaths, new moons, feasts and festivals to his Covenant people at Sinai: Exodus 12:1-28; Leviticus 23. These elements of the calendar were shadows of what God would do through Christ: the body casting the shadow is Jesus Christ, Colossians 2:16, 17. Jesus crucified on Passover, the Holy Spirit given at Pentecost, etc., When Jesus comes back, at least one of the Feasts, i.e., the Feast of Tabernacles, will be reinstituted as a requirement for the whole world, Zechariah 14:16-19. Eventually the whole world will governed by this calendar as evidenced by Isaiah 66:23 “And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.”
i. God promised He would bring them back into the land.
1. Deuteronomy 30:1-6 (5)
2. Scripture implies Israel would be brought back into the land before their regeneration as a nation: Ezekiel 36:24, 25. That is where we are at right now.
3. Isaiah 62:4, 5 God is married to Israel and the land.
4. Jeremiah 12:14 calls Israel’s neighbors evil if they try to touch their inheritance.
5. Ezekiel 36:1-15 is a passage referring to the “mountains of Israel”. A good Atlas that details the elevations of the area around Israel will show that the mountains of Israel, except the area of the Golan Heights, match perfectly the area called the West Bank.
j. Ezekiel 36:5 God is speaking in the fire of his jealously because he is married to Israel and the land.
1). Zephaniah 3:8, The fire of the LORD’S jealously.
2). Joel 3:2 Every nation that participates in the dividing up of the land will be brought down to the valley of Jehoshaphat and judged.
Armageddon and an Independent Palestinian State
Don Costello, Friday, January 11, 2008
There is much talk in the news lately about the formation of a Palestinian state. It has become a major goal of President Bush. I believe that he is making the worst mistake of his Presidency. Biblically the West Bank, as it is called today is part of the land that Almighty God covenanted with Abraham to give his descendants through Isaac. Even more important is the fact that one of the reasons Jesus Christ is coming back at Armageddon is to destroy the people trying to steal the land of Israel away from Him and Israel. Although the Golan Heights are included in that Covenant, I want to focus on the area of the West Bank because that is the area the whole world is trying to make an independent Palestinian state.
A crucial element of this debate for the Bible believing Christian is that the West Bank as it is known today is referred to in Scripture as “Judea” and “Samaria” or “the mountains of Israel”. In 1999, the magazine “Christians for Israel” published an article documenting this entitled, “The Mountains of Israel”, by Karel van Oordt and Pee Koelewijn. There is also a book entitled, “The Mountains of Israel” by Norma Archbold that refers to this.
According to scripture, from the time when Lot and Abraham separated until after God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham lived on the plain of Mamre, which is present day Hebron in the West Bank. The events of Genesis 15 of the cutting of the covenant and the giving of the land occurred at that very place. In these scriptures we see the elements of the ancient Middle Eastern covenant. In Genesis 15:9, the animals are chosen, in verse 10 they are divided and laind against one another and in verses 17 and 18 the participants pass through the divided animals. The purpose for this according to Unger’s Bible Dictionary was to confirm the covenant, “…by slaughtering and cutting the victim into halves, between which the parties passed, to intimate that if either of them broke the covenant it would fare with him as with the slain and divided beast.” The element not mentioned in the Genesis passage but most definitely took place at the time of the oath in Ezekiel 47:14 (NIV) where God, “…swore with an uplifted hand”, to give the land to Israel. We get that impression from Jeremiah 34:14, which says the LORD will punish those, “…which have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before me, when they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof.” The picture we see when all these elements are included is when the LORD was passing through those pieces, He was swearing with an uplifted hand He was going to give Israel the land.
According to Isaiah 62:4, God is married to Israel and the land. The New American Standard Version says, “It well no longer be said to you “”Forsaken”” Nor to your land will it any longer be said, “”Desolate””; But you will be called, “”My delight is in her,”” and your land, “”Married.”” It is no wonder then that the first three verses of Ezekiel 36, which deals with the mountains of Israel, i.e. the West Bank, are laced with a very stern warning from God in the spirit of a jealous husband. Ezekiel 36:5 says the LORD is speaking, “…in the fire of my jealously…against the rest of the nations…who appropriated my land for themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy and scorn of soul.” The LORD God in Jeremiah 12:14 (NIV) calls those nations “wicked neighbors” who would “seize the inheritance I gave my people Israel.”
All these world leaders want to take the West Bank, the “mountains of Israel”, and give it to the Palestinian people. This is the land that Almighty God swore with an uplifted hand to give to the Jewish people. The world is demanding and applauding this attempt of a Palestinian state. All the while, unbeknownst to them, a jealous husband watches while his bride is being defiled, and the emotion of rage is building in Him. It is a clear truth in Scripture that one of the reasons Armageddon will occur is the LORD responding to the world’s attempt to steal Israel’s land from Him. Confirmation of this is Joel 3:2. “I will gather all nations and will bring them down into the valley of Jehosophat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.”
This information has caused me to look at Armageddon in a totally different light. There has never been anything approaching the amount of blood letting that will occur during this battle. In Revelation 14:20 it says, “And the winepress was trodden without the city, and the blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.” Harper’s Bible Dictionary says a Biblical furlong is 1/10 of a mile, hence 160 miles. The New American Standard Version gives 200 miles as the distance. Saints,that is a lot of blood. It is a river of blood 5 or 6 feet deep and anywhere between 160 and 200 miles long.
Though these figures sound incredible, a passage in Zechariah 14:12 encourages me to believe it to be literal. “And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem, there flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.” The Hebrew word for “consume” is ‘naqaq’ and it means “to melt, to flow, to consume away, to dissolve”. There will be hundreds of millions of soldiers gathered for battle against Jerusalem. The multitude will be so great it appears to stretch from Megiddo almost 60 miles to the north, down to Jerusalem. How much blood would there be if the flesh and blood of all those soldiers melted off their bones?
A verse giving a look at the emotion behind this judgment is Isaiah 63:3, where the wine press is again mentioned. “I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and will trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.” What is so striking about this passage is the anger and zeal with which the LORD performs His work. He stomps the grapes or people with anger and zeal so fierce, the juice or blood completely stains his garment. He is angry because of His jealously. Zephaniah 3:8 quotes the LORD saying, “…for my determination is to gather the nations that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealously.” And He is jealous because the heathen are stealing His land. “Surely in the fire of my jealously have I spoken against the heathen, which have appropriated my land into their possession…Ezekiel 36:5.
Saints, these scriptures should encourage Bible believing Christians to shun the idea of an independent Palestinian state. We have all seen the image of an enraged jealous husband in print or video. Because the governments of the world continue to take Israel’s land from God, whether it be the West Bank or the Golan Heights, they are going to see an enraged, jealous God.
“For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore
He will not spare in the day of vengeance.”
Proverbs 6:34
Don Costello
Armageddon and an Independent Palestinian State Rewrite
Don Costello, Friday, January 2, 2017
There is much talk in the news lately about the present Administration’s treatment of Israel, America’s long standing and most dependable ally in the Middle East. Basically what the U. N. resolution 2334 declares is condemnation of Israeli construction settlements in East Jerusalem. The present United States Administration could have stopped the resolution from happening but they did not. The information is now coming forth that says the U.S. did not just abstain from the vote, but helped bring the condemnation to a vote. This resolution is a reaffirmation of many U.N. resolutions condemnationing Israel for not completely letting go of land they won back in 1967, that they believe is rightfully theirs, and most importantly the Bible says is theirs.
What the U.N. has been saying since 1967 in its resolution 242 after the six day war, and in its many resolutions is that Israel is occupying the West Bank and the Golan Heights i.e. Palestinian/Arab land and they need to give it back. Biblically the West Bank and Golan Heights as it is called today is part of the land that Almighty God covenanted with Abraham to give his descendants through Isaac. Even more important is the fact that one of the reasons Jesus Christ is coming back at Armageddon is to destroy the people trying to steal the land of Israel away from Him and Israel. Although the Golan Heights are included in that Covenant, I want to focus on the area of the West Bank because that is the area the whole world is trying to make an independent Palestinian state.
A crucial element of this debate for the Bible believing Christian is that the West Bank as it is known today is referred to in Scripture as “Judea” and “Samaria” or “the mountains of Israel”. In 1999, the magazine “Christians for Israel” published an article documenting this entitled, “The Mountains of Israel”, by Karel van Oordt and Pee Koelewijn. There is also a book entitled, “The Mountains of Israel” by Norma Archbold that refers to this.
According to Jewish Scripture, from the time when Lot and Abraham separated until after God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham lived on the plain of Mamre, which is present day Hebron in the West Bank. The events of Genesis 15 of the cutting of the covenant and the giving of the land occurred at that very spot. In these scriptures we see the elements of the ancient Middle Eastern covenant. In Genesis 15:9, the animals are chosen, in verse 10 they are divided and laind against one another and in verses 17 and 18 the participants pass through the divided animals. The purpose for this according to Unger’s Bible Dictionary was to confirm the covenant, “…by slaughtering and cutting the victim into halves, between which the parties passed, to intimate that if either of them broke the covenant it would fare with him as with the slain and divided beast.” The element not mentioned in the Genesis passage but most definitely also took place at this time of the oath is found in Ezekiel 47:14 (NIV) where God, “…swore with an uplifted hand”, to give the land to Israel. We get that impression from Jeremiah 34:14, which says the LORD will punish those, “…which have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before me, when they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof.” The picture we see when all these elements are included is when the LORD was passing through those pieces, He was swearing with an uplifted hand He was going to give Israel the land.
According to Isaiah 62:4, God is married to Israel and the land. The New American Standard Version says, “It well no longer be said to you “”Forsaken”” Nor to your land will it any longer be said, “”Desolate””; But you will be called, “”My delight is in her,”” and your land, “”Married.”” It is no wonder then that the first three verses of Ezekiel 36, which deals with the mountains of Israel, i.e. the West Bank, are laced with a very stern warning from God in the spirit of a jealous husband. Ezekiel 36:5 says the LORD is speaking, “…in the fire of my jealously…against the rest of the nations…who appropriated my land for themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy and scorn of soul.” The LORD God in Jeremiah 12:14 (NIV) calls those nations “wicked neighbors” who would “seize the inheritance I gave my people Israel.”
All these world leaders want to take the West Bank, the “mountains of Israel”, and give it to the Palestinian people. This is the land that Almighty God swore with an uplifted hand to give to the Jewish people. The world is demanding and applauding this attempt of a Palestinian state. All the while, unbeknownst to them, a jealous husband watches while his bride is being defiled, and the emotion of rage is building in Him. It is a clear truth in Scripture that one of the reasons Armageddon will occur is the LORD responding to the world’s attempt to steal Israel’s land from Him. Confirmation of this is Joel 3:2. “I will gather all nations and will bring them down into the valley of Jehosophat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.”
This information has caused me to look at Armageddon in a totally different light. There has never been anything approaching the amount of blood letting that will occur during this battle. In Revelation 14:20 it says, “And the winepress was trodden without the city, and the blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.” Harper’s Bible Dictionary says a Biblical furlong is 1/10 of a mile, hence 160 miles. The New American Standard Version gives 200 miles as the distance. Saints, that is a lot of blood. It is a river of blood 5 or 6 feet deep and anywhere between 160 and 200 miles long.
Though these figures sound incredible, a passage in Zechariah 14:12 encourages me to believe it to be literal. “And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem, there flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.” The Hebrew word for “consume” is ‘naqaq’ and it means “to melt, to flow, to consume away, to dissolve”. There will be hundreds of millions of soldiers gathered for battle against Jerusalem. The multitude will be so great it appears to stretch from Megiddo almost 60 miles to the north, down to Jerusalem. How much blood would there be if the flesh and blood of all those soldiers melted off their bones?
A verse giving a look at the emotion behind this judgment is Isaiah 63:3, where the wine press is again mentioned. “I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and will trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.” What is so striking about this passage is the anger and zeal with which the LORD performs His work. He stomps the grapes or people with anger and zeal so fierce, the juice or blood completely stains his garment. He is angry because of His jealously. Zephaniah 3:8 quotes the LORD saying, “…for my determination is to gather the nations that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealously.” And He is jealous because the heathen are stealing His land. “Surely in the fire of my jealously have I spoken against the heathen, which have appropriated my land into their possession…Ezekiel 36:5.
Saints, these scriptures should encourage Bible believing Christians to shun the idea of an independent Palestinian state. We have all seen the image of an enraged jealous husband in print or video. Because the governments of the world continue to take Israel’s land from God, whether it be the West Bank or the Golan Heights, they are going to see an enraged, jealous God.
“For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore He will not spare in the day of vengeance.” Proverbs 6:34
Right now, in this dispensation of grace, God has graciously and mercifully proclaimed that he has paid for all our sin, Christian and non-Christian, believer and non-believer, and has forgiven our offences against Him by the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. It is time for all to accept what God has graciously and mercifully offered to us in the new birth, the born again experience. The only way to receive forgiveness from God and entrance into his kingdom and enter heaven is to be born again, to make Jesus your Lord and Savior. Soon one of the next implementations of the plan of redemption will occur, the second coming of Christ at Armegeddon. Where Jesus, the Prince of Peace and the Lamb of God will become the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, and the slaughter of all who oppose Him will be carried out.
Will the United States be included in the opposition toward God? I don’t know. I do believe that President-elect Donald Trump is a recent convert to Christianity and he is a strong supporter of Israel. He has surrounded himself with many knowledgeable people, most importantly many born again believers and believers need to pray for their President that he will be open to receive wisdom from God on how he is to govern in a godly manner.
Whose land is it? The conflict over Gaza
During my whole lifetime there have been wars and violence in the area in and around Israel. This modern phenomena began in May 1948 when the UN gave the Israelie people land on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea, that borders Egypt in the south, Jordan on the south east, Lebanon to the North and Syria on the north east. The U.N. declared Israel a nation on May 14, 1948, and on May 15, 1948, 5 Arab nations (Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon) invaded Israel, with Israel fighting them off. It has been that way just about ever since. Israel is attacked and they rightfully defend themselves, either from an Arab nation or from radical groups of terrorists, and it is no different in this recent escalation. In 2005 the Bush Administration pressured israel to evict every Jew from Gaza and forced them to hand it over to the palestian Authority, in the name of peace. In 2006 elections were held in Gaza and Hamas won the majority and ever since then they have on and off been firing rockets into Israel. In 2006 an escalation of rockets rained down on Israel from Gaza and Israel went into Gaza to stop it. Israel is going into Gaza again to protect their people and stop Hamas from firing rockets into Israel.
But deeper into this issue is a battle over the real owners of the land. Mixed in with the erroneous islamic-Arab philosophy is a hatred of the Jewish people that goes back 4000 years, all the way to Abraham. Abraham, if you are not aware of it is the natural and spiritual ancestor to jews through isaac, the natural ancestor to Arabs through Ismael and the spiritual ancestor to Christians through Christ.
A crucial element of this debate for the Bible believing Christian is that the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan Heights as they are know today are part of a land area given to Abraham and his seed by God in an eternal Covenant in Genesis 15. The seed in this Covenant is later identified in Genesis 17:19 as isaac another ancestor of the jewish people.
According to scripture, from the time when Lot and Abraham separated until after God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham lived on the plain of Mamre, which is present day Hebron in the West Bank. The events of Genesis 15 of the cutting of the covenant and the giving of the land occurred at that very place. In these scriptures we see the elements of the ancient Middle Eastern covenant. In Genesis 15:9, the animals are chosen, in verse 10 they are divided and laid against one another and in verses 17 and 18 the participants pass through the divided animals. The purpose for this according to Unger’s Bible Dictionary was to confirm the covenant, “…by slaughtering and cutting the victim into halves, between which the parties passed, to intimate that if either of them broke the covenant it would fare with him as with the slain and divided beast.” The element not mentioned in the Genesis passage but most definitely took place at that time was an oath taken by God, and described in Ezekiel 47:14 (NIV) where God, “…swore with an uplifted hand”, to give the land to Israel. We get that impression from Jeremiah 34:14, which says the LORD will punish those, “…which have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before me, when they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof.” The picture we see when all these elements are included is when the LORD was passing through those pieces, He was swearing with an uplifted hand He was going to give Israel the land.
According to Isaiah 62:4, God is married to Israel and the land. The New American Standard Version says, “It well no longer be said to you, “Forsaken” Nor to your land will it any longer be said, “Desolate”; But you will be called, “My delight is in her,” and your land, “Married.” It is no wonder then that the first three verses of Ezekiel 36, which deals with the mountains of Israel, i.e. the West Bank, are laced with a very stern warning from God in the spirit of a jealous husband. Ezekiel 36:5 says the LORD is speaking, “…in the fire of my jealously…against the rest of the nations…who appropriated my land for themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy and scorn of soul.” The LORD God in Jeremiah 12:14 (NIV) calls those nations “wicked neighbors” who would “seize the inheritance I gave my people Israel.” We must also realize that God in Scripture or the present day nation of Israel is not against muslims or any non Jew living in Israel, as long as they live in peace, and obey the laws of the land.
All these world leaders want to take the West Bank, the “mountains of Israel”, and give it to the Palestinian people.
The scene of the present eruption of violence, the strip of land called Gaza, was turned over to the so called Palestinians in 2005. Most Christians are ignorant of the fact that Gaza was included in the land that was given to Israel, in particular to the tribe of Judah: Joshua 15:20-47 (47).
This is the land that Almighty God swore with an uplifted hand to give to the Jewish people. The world is demanding and applauding this attempt of a Palestinian state. All the while, unbeknownst to them, a jealous husband watches while his bride is being defiled, and the emotion of rage is building in Him. It is a clear truth in Scripture that one of the reasons Armageddon will occur is the LORD responding to the world’s attempt to steal Israel’s land from Him. Confirmation of this is Joel 3:2. “I will gather all nations and will bring them down into the valley of Jehosophat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.”
This information has caused me to look at Armageddon in a totally different light. There has never been anything approaching the amount of blood letting that will occur during this battle. In Revelation 14:20 it says, “And the winepress was trodden without the city, and the blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.” Harper’s Bible Dictionary says a Biblical furlong is 1/10 of a mile, hence 160 miles. The New American Standard Version gives 200 miles as the distance. Saints, that is a lot of blood. It is a river of blood 5 or 6 feet deep and anywhere between 160 and 200 miles long.
Though these figures sound incredible, a passage in Zechariah 14:12 encourages me to believe it to be literal. “And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem, their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.” The Hebrew word for “consume” is ‘naqaq’ and it means “to melt, to flow, to consume away, to dissolve”. There will be hundreds of millions of soldiers gathered for battle against Jerusalem. The multitude will be so great it appears to stretch from Megiddo almost 60 miles to the north, down to Jerusalem. How much blood would there be if the flesh and blood of all those soldiers melted off their bones?
A verse giving a look at the emotion behind this judgment is Isaiah 63:3, where the wine press is again mentioned. “I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and will trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.” What is so striking about this passage is the anger and zeal with which the LORD performs His work. He stomps the grapes or people with anger and zeal so fierce, the juice or blood completely stains his garment. He is angry because of His jealously. Zephaniah 3:8 quotes the LORD saying, “…for my determination is to gather the nations that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealously.” And He is jealous because the heathen are stealing His land. “Surely in the fire of my jealously have I spoken against the heathen, which have appropriated my land into their possession…Ezekiel 36:5.
I must point out also, that Mount Hermon, geographically in the Golan Heights above the Sea of Galilee are among the “mountains of Israel”. They also are part of the so called occupied territory though they are about 60 miles north. The Golan Heights were part of the original inheritance given to Israel, in particular, the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh (Joshua 12:4-6).
Folks, all this fighting against Israel will eventually lead to Armageddon, and God will win. What you must understand is that none of these verses about Israel could have been fulfilled until Israel became a nation on that day in 1948. When that happened the countdown to the return of Christ started.
Jesus is coming soon.
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